There are various types of animal traps presently used in the fur trapping industry. Further, there are a significant number of traps which are of the Conibear type which are typically preferred by the industry, since such traps are more humane and avoid damaging the pelt of the trapped animal. As an example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,010,245 issued to F. E. Conibear on Nov. 28, 1961 discloses the basic rotating frame trap. However, in addition to the original Conibear trap patent, there are other patents which disclose improvements to the Conibear technique, such as the improvement disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,747,259 issued to Daniel W. Pellowski on July 24, 1973. The Pellowski trap provides means for mounting the trap to a stake or pole and further discloses a coiled spring technique for operating the rotating jaws.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,974,592, issued to Stanley E. Staats on Aug. 17, 1976 also discloses a rotating frame or Conibear type trap which works in combination with a pair of forked stakes for supporting the trap. The stakes comprise a pair of prongs which include pegs protruding inwardly to straddle each of the pivots of the trap. The prongs are held together by rings that slide into position by gravity after a trap is positioned between the prongs. The prongs are inserted in the ground to hold the trap at the desired height.
As can be seen from the aforementioned Staats Patent, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,111,885, issued to Ray L. Carter on Oct. 10, 1978, although the Conibear or rotating frame type trap is very effective when set and positioned correctly, it is often difficult to locate and support the trap so that the rotating frames always remain in the desired position and across the pathway of the targeted animal. Consequently, techniques for supporting the trap in the desired location or position are the subject matter of the Staat and the Carter Patents. The Carter Patent discloses a device for supporting the trap by means of an elongated strap which has a central raised member which forms two slots between the strap and the raised member for receiving the jaws of the trap. Thus, the trap is supported on the extended elongated strap.
Still another type of holder or support means for the Conibear or rotating frame trap is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,152,861 issued to Wesley T. Miller on May 8, 1979. This holder utilizes resilient fingers mounted on an elongated body, stake or rod. The fingers include recesses wherein the jaws of the trap are received in the recesses to support the trap in a predetermined manner when the trap is "set", such that upon being released or sprung the holder fingers do not interfer with the trap operation and the trap structure is automatically released from the holder.
Of course, all sorts of traps other than the Conibear trap experience problems associated with supporting and maintaining the trap at a desired location. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,406,180 issued to I. W. Wampler, et.al. on Aug. 20, 1946 shows a technique for staking or securing a standard small animal trap other than the Conibear type.
Therefore, from the above discussed traps, it will be appreciated that rotating frame animal traps are typically supported in the pathway or swimway of a small fur bearing animal such as the mink, muskrat or beaver. It will also be appreciated that these type traps must be maintained in a particular position and location otherwise the animal will not swim or move through the open frames and may simply move over, above or around the trap. Therefore, since such traps are often located under water, it will be appreciated that "setting" the traps and then locating them in the correct position to avoid springing the traps sometimes creates problems. Further, the trap is designed to catch the animal without doing damage to the pelt, and therefore the trap is typically secured so that it allows some motion or rotation after the trap has been sprung but remains substantially immobile prior to being tripped.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a simple and inexpensive technique for supporting a rotating frame trap in a fixed location in such a manner that the operation of the trap is not detrimentally affected.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a means of supporting the rotating frame trap on a support stake of selected length and diameter.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a means for supporting a Conibear or rotating frame trap by selectively clamping the trap to a supporting stake of desired length or diameter.